Bracket or the like clamps



July 28, 195 A. PENN 2,896,898

BRACKET 6R THE LIKE CLAMPS Filed June 3, 1957 lllvwk J24 w. W

A fro/we Y F 2,896,898 Patented J 285-1959 BRACKET OR THE LIKE CLAMPS Alexander Penn, London, England, assignor to John Wilkins & Co. Limited Application June 3, 1957, Serial No. 663,106

Claims priority, application Great Britain June 11, 1956 Claims. (Cl. 248-245) This invention relates to bracket or the like clamps of the kind formed of a front wall and rearwardly extending, longitudinally grooved side cheeks and adapted to engage in free sliding engagement a T-sectioned part of a supporting member. Such clamps are adjustable in position on the supporting member and are provided with means for locking them in position on the supporting member.

In one form of the known supporting structures comprising one or more supporting members and clamps of the type referred to, the clamp has to be fitted over an end of the supporting member and then moved to the desired position. This is often inconvenient and to overcome this disadvantage it has been proposed to cut out at intervals portions of the parts of the supporting member which engage the clamp so that the clamp can be fitted to the supporting member at a number of positions and then be moved upwardly or downwardly to engage the supporting member. The latter construction also has disadvantages in that the supporting member may be weakened undesirably by cutting out portions thereof, the clamp cannot be locked in position at a point where the supporting member has been cut away and in addition the appearance from a display point of view is deleteriously affected.

It is an object of the invention to overcome these disadvantages.

In accordance with the invention the bracket or the like clamp is formed of two members which comprise two overlapping wall parts, which together form the said front wall and each of which carries a side cheek, the

two members being provided with engaging parts so that they can be assembled and locked together by moving them first laterally and then longitudinally with respect to each other.

In a preferred form of construction of the clamp of the invention the side cheek carried by one Wall part extends both forwardly and rearwardly of the said one wall part and is provided with an additional, longitudinally extending groove forwardly of the said one wall part in which additional groove the free longitudinal edge of the other wall part is adapted to be engaged and the other wall part carries at its upper end a downwardly extending lip spaced therefrom and adapted to fit over the top of the said one wall part to engage with or dovetail into a recess formed in the face of the said one wall part, so that the clamp may be assembled by sliding the said other wall part laterally over the said one wall part until its free longitudinal edge is engaged in said additional groove and then moving the wall parts longitudinally with respect to each other until the said lip is engaged with or dovetailed into said recess.

The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a front perspective View of the two members, before assembly, of a clamp constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a rear perspective view of the two parts shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the clamp assembled on a supporting member;

Fig. 4 is a sectional plan "view on the line IVIV of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the structure shown in Fig. 3 showing the assembled clamp in section on the line V-V.

For the sake of clarity Figs. 2, 4 and 5 are shown on an enlarged scale with respect to Figs. 1 and 3.

Referring to the drawing, the clamp shown is formed of two members 1 and 1'. Member 1 is formed of a wall part2 carrying a side cheek 3 extending forwardly and rearwardly of the wall part 2 and provided with longitudinal grooves .4 and 5 on both sides of the Wall part 2. The wall part 2 is formed with a recess '6 at its upper end. The member 1 is formed of a wall part 2 carrying a rearwardly extending side cheek 3' provided with a longitudinal groove 4. The free longitudinal edge 7 of the wall part 2' of member 1' is cut away so as to form a sliding fit in the :groove 5 of said cheek 3 of member 1. The wall part 2' also carries an overhanging lip 8 which is adapted to dovetail into the recess 6ofwall part2. v

The clamp of the invention may be used with a supporting member 9, the front part of which is of T-shapedcross-section with sidewardly extending portions 10, 10'. In assembling the clamp on the supporting member 9, the member 1 and 1 forming the clamp are moved laterally over each other with the wall part 2 of member 1 free of the overhanging lip 8 of wall part 2' of member 1', to engage the sidewardly extending portions 10 and 10' in the grooves 4 and 4 and the edge 7 of wall part 2' in the groove 5 of side cheek 3 of member 1. The members 1 and 1' are then moved longitudinally with respect to each other so that the lip 8 of wall part 2 dovetails into the recess 6 of wall part 2 and the two members are thus interlocked embracing the supporting member 9. The wall parts 2 and 2' of members 1 and 1 are provided with circular apertures 11 and 11 which are coaxial in the assembled position of the clamp. Aperture 11 is provided with a female screw thread and is of smaller diameter than aperture 11. After assembly a grub screw 12 is inserted through aperture 11 and engages with the fem-ale screw thread in aperture 11 and serves to lock the assembled clamp to the supporting member 9 by being screwed inwardly until it comes into contact with the front face of the supporting member 9 and thus brings the rear side walls of the grooves 4 and 4 into contact with the rear faces of the sidewardly extending port-ions 10, 10' of member 9. The screw 12 need not be screwed in tightly as once the clamp has been located in position by the screw 12 any load applied to the bracket 13, of which the clamp forms part, exerts a tilting action on the clamp and binds it effectively to the supporting member. The grub screw 12 is of such length that after the clamp has been locked in position on the supporting member 9, the head of the grub screw 12 extends into the aperture 11' of wall part 2 as ,shown in Fig. 5 and helps to ensure that no relative movement takes place which would lead to the breaking apart of the two members 1 and 1 of the assembled clamp. The supporting memher 9 is provided with holes 9' to take screws for attaching the supporting member to a wall.

What is claimed is:

1. A two-part bracket or the like clamp comprising a first channel member having an integrally formed first planar wall member extending from'the bottom Wall of the channel member spaced from and parallel to the side walls thereof, a second channel member having one of its side walls extended to form a second planar wall member of substantially the dimensions of the first wall member, a projection on the upper marginal edge portion of the second wall member extending inwardly from the inner surface thereof, the first, Wall member having its upper edge notched to accommodate the projection when the parts are in assembled relation with the freeedge portion of the second wall member in the space formed between the first Wall and one side wall of the first channel member and the other side wall of the first channel member is in alignment with the side wall of the second channel member.

2. A bracket or the like clamp as claimed in claim 1, in which both planar wall members are provided with apertures which are coaxial in the assembled position and in which the aperture in at least one of the planar wall members is provided with an internal thread.

3. A bracket or the like clamp as claimed in claim 1 in which both planar wall members are provided with apertures which are coaxial in the assembled position and in which the aperture in the first wall member is internally threaded and is of smaller diameter than the second wall member to receive a grub screw through the aperture in the second Wall member.

4. A bracket or the like clamp as claimed in claim 3, in which said grub screw is of such a length that it extends wholly within the confines of the aperture in the second wall member when the clamp is locked in position on a supporting member.

5. A two-part bracket or the like clamp comprising a first vertical channel member having an integrally formed first planar wall member extending from the bottom wall of the channel member spaced from and parallel to the side walls thereof, a second vertical channel member having one of its side walls extended to form a second planar wall member of substantially the dimensions of the first wall member, a projection on the upper marginal edge portion of the second wall member extending inwardly from the inner surface thereof and having a downwardly turned lip, the first wall member having 'a recess in its upper marginal edge portion to receive the lip when the parts are in assembled relation with the free edge portion of the second wall member in the space formed between the first wall and one side wall of the first channel member and the other side wall of the first channel member is in alignment with the side wall of the second channel member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 493,216 Louden Mar. 7, 1893 1,412,830 Bennington Apr. 18, 1922 2,530,892 Mayo Nov. 21, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,138,147 France Jan. 28, 1957 

